Week 10: Infertility and pregnancy loss Flashcards

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1
Q

Define infertility

A

Failure to achieve pregnancy after 12 months of regular, unprotected intercourse or due to a person’s capacity to reproduce either as an individual or with their partner (irregular period, tubal surgery, no access to sperm/ovaries/uterus)

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2
Q

Evaluation for causes of infertility should be done when?

A

-Woman is 35yr+: evaluation should begin after 6 months of attempts
-Woman is 40+ or has a known impairment: immediately

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3
Q

Rank the non-genetic causes of infertility for couples from most to least common:

Unexplained
Ovulatory dysfunction
Tubal/pelvic pathology
Unusual problems
Male problems

A
  1. Male problems (35%) and tubal/pelvic pathology (35%)
  2. Ovulatory dysfunction (15%)
  3. Unexplained infertility (10%)
  4. Unusual problems
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4
Q

Rank the non-genetic causes of infertility for women from most to least common:

Unexplained
Tubal/pelvic pathology
Ovulatory dysfunction
Unusual problems

A
  1. Tubal/pelvic pathology (40%) and ovulatory dysfunction (40%)
  2. Unexplained (10%) and unusual problems (10%)
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5
Q

About how many eggs are women born with? About how many are left by puberty?

A

Start with ~1-2 million
~300-400K left by puberty

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6
Q

What tests are completed to assess ovarian reserve?

A

3 blood tests and a vaginal US:

-Anti-Mullerian hormone
-Day 3 FSH
-Day 3 estradiol
-Antral follicle count (AFC)

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7
Q

A higher AMH (anti-Mullerian hormone) means what?

A

A greater number of eggs left/higher ovarian reserve

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8
Q

Anovulation means what?

A

Irregular menstrual cycles or not ovulating

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9
Q

A normal menstrual cycle is how long?

A

21-35 days

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10
Q

What can be used to track ovulation? What is this test measuring?

A

Ovulation predictor kits (OPKs)
These kits measure LH level

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11
Q

What is the most common cause of anovulation?

A

PCOS

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12
Q

What is a tubal factor that can contribute to infertility?

A

Dilated tubes
-Not good
-Can put pressure on cilia which is important for egg movement from ovary to tube
-Typically recommended to remove dilated tubes

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13
Q

What are some uterine factors that can contribute to infertility?

A

-Submucosal fibroid
-Uterine polyps
-Interuterine adhesions: caused by infection or surgery/miscarriage which makes prone to scar tissue, surgery to remove

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14
Q

Name and explain male factors that contribute to infertility?

A

-Genetic
-Anatomic: varicoceles, previous surgeries
-Hormonal: low testosterone, high FSH
-Lifestyle factors: smoking cigs, alcohol intake, illicit drugs, obesity, psychological stress, APA, diet, caffeine intake

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15
Q

Name 5 infertility treatment options

A
  1. Ovulation induction
  2. IUI
  3. IVF with or without PGT
  4. Donor egg, sperm, embryo
  5. Gestational carrier
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16
Q

What two ARTs are considered “third party reproduction”?

A

-Donor egg, sperm, embryo
-Gestational carrier

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17
Q

Describe ovulation induction

A

-Use of medications that trick brain into producing FSH and boost ovulation (greater possibility for multiples)
-Meds include clomiphene citrate and Letrozole
-Injectable gonadotropins (stimulate ovaries)
-Trigger ovulation with hCG: body thinks that it’s the same as LH due to similar structure of protein and hCG has longer half life vs LH so can be more effective

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18
Q

Describe IUI

A

-Trouble getting sperms to swimming pool
-Sperm are washed and then placed into the uterus using a catheter

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19
Q

Describe IVF

A

-Embryos are created outside the body in lab
-Stimulation with injectable gonadotropins (FSH and LH)
-Oocyte retrieval
-Fertilization with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)
-Embryo transfer

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20
Q

Define recurrent pregnancy loss

A

-The spontaneous loss of 2+ pregnancies
-Estimated that fewer than 5% of women will experience 2 consecutive losses and only 1% experience 3+

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21
Q

List 3 non genetic causes of RPL

A
  1. Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS)
  2. Anatomic
  3. Hormonal/metabolic
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22
Q

What are some hormonal causes of recurrent pregnancy loss?

A

-Uncontrolled diabetes: glycohemoglobin
-Hyperprolactinemia: prolactin
-Hypothyroidism: TSH
-Diminished ovarian reserve: AMH, day 3 FSH and estradiol

23
Q

What is sperm DNA fragmentation?

A

refers to lesions, damage or breaks in the genetic material of the sperm, and is one of the major causes of male infertility

24
Q

Sperm DNA fragmentation has been correlated with what related to pregnancy?

A

-More DNA breakage in sperm=longer time to get pregnant and more miscarriage
can filter/select out for this now
-Couples with unexplained RM had significantly increased levels of SDF and significantly decreased levels of total motility and progressive motility compared to couples without RM
-SDF assay may be considered for inclusion in evaluations of couples with unexplained RM

25
Q

The majority of miscarriages are ___

A

Sporadic and thought to result from genetic causes that are greatly influenced by maternal age

26
Q

Up to ___% of cases of RPL will not have a clearly defined etiology

A

50%

27
Q

Infertility affects ___% of couples

A

10-15%

28
Q

Recurrent pregnancy loss affects ___% of couples

A

1-5%

29
Q

At how many weeks GA are developmental pathways activated that lead to development of gonads?

A

7wks

30
Q

The female developmental pathway is largely hormone _____

A

Independent

31
Q

The male development pathway is heavily hormone ____

A

Dependent

32
Q

How does XXY contribute to male factor infertility?

A

-Abnormal development of testicles
-Arrest of spermatogenesis at primary spermatocyte stage
-Leads to azoospermia or oligospermia
-Leads to low testosterone production

-Mosaic Klinefelter typically have fewer infertility problems

33
Q

What reproductive options are available for those with Klinefelter syndrome?

A

-Candidates for microscopic testicular sperm extraction (microTESE)
-IVF if desire biological offspring
-Consider PGTA: potential increased risk for embryos with sex chromosome aneuploidy

34
Q

Describe how cystic fibrosis is considered a male factor of infertility

A

-Obstructive reason for infertility
->95% of males with CF have obstructive azoospermia: congenital bilateral absence vans deferens (CBAVD)
+Depends on type of CF
variant present
-Patients presenting sometimes not just regular CF but sometimes CFTR-related conditions

35
Q

Describe Y chromosome microdeletion and how it relates to male factor infertility

A

-Deletion of AZF (azoospermia factor) region related to sperm production
-AZFa: Sertoli-cell only syndrome
-AZFb: arrest of spermatogenesis at primary spermatocyte stage
-AZFc: low sperm concentration and spermatogenesis
+Also more prone to smaller sub-dels and involvement of the DAZ gene

36
Q

Why is it important to know the status of Y chromosome microdeletion?

A

Important to know for sperm retrieval surgery- know likelihood of sperm existing in the first place

37
Q

How could ciliopathies contribute to male factor infertility?

A

Affect ability of sperm to swim

38
Q

Describe how translocations could relate to male factor infertility

A

-Autosomal translocations: found in 4-10x more infertile males than fertile males
-Robertsonian translocations: most common type

Why it’s important to do karyotypes on BOTH partners undergoing fertility workup!

39
Q

How is fragile X related to male factor infertility

A

-CGG repeat expansion in FMR1 gene
-FMR1 localizes primarily to the brain and testes, and is involved in cell-to-cell communication and nerve function

40
Q

Other XY related factors for infertility

A

-Kennedy disease: CAG repeat expansion, the longer the repeat= the weaker the androgen receptor activity
-Androgen insensitivity syndrome: insensitivity to androgens, feminization of external genitalia and abnormal sex characteristics
-5-alpha reductase deficiency: reduced production of DHT leads to disruption of external male sex organ development
-X-linked adrenal hypoplasia congenita: shortage of male sex hormones
-Kallmann syndrome: hypothalamus doesn’t work properly, mutations in gene prevent puberty and lead to microphallus, undescended testes, (overlaping phenotype with other non-kallmann genes which is important to sus out because it affects repro risk and risk to children)

41
Q

Lack of smell is symptomatic of which XY factor infertility syndrome?

A

Kallmann syndrome

42
Q

Female sex development is largely _______ _______

A

Hormone independent

Females by default

43
Q

How is Turner syndrome related to female factor infertility?

A

-Lack of second sex chromosome causes dosage compensation effects
-Streak ovaries/ovarian dysgenesis
-Amenorrhea
-Premature ovarian failure
-Lack of estrogen production!

44
Q

How is Fragile X related to female factor infertility?

A

-Silenced FMR1 gene leads to toxic buildup of messenger RNA which effects ovarian function/menstruation
-Prolongs estrogen-deficient state
-POI

45
Q

How is galactosemia related to female factor infertility?

A

-POI
-Exact cause uncertain, believed galactose or byproduct may be toxic to ovaries

46
Q

How is polycystic ovarian syndrome related to female factor infertility?

A

-Cysts throw everything off
-Dysregulation
-Multifactorial things

47
Q

Hormone replacement therapy is a viable treatment options for what 2 syndromes that contribute to infertility?

A

-Klinefelter: testosterone
-Turner: growth hormone and estrogen

48
Q

Donor sperm/egg is a viable treatment option for bypassing what factors of infertility?

A

-Bypass CBAVD, azoospermia, oligozoospermia
-Bypass ovarian insufficiency/failure

49
Q

Briefly outline the 7 steps of IVF

A
  1. Ovarian hyperstimulation
  2. Egg retrieval
  3. Sperm “donation”
  4. Fertilization
  5. Maturation
  6. Embryo transfer
  7. Implantation

Aided by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)

50
Q

How are cells accessed to test for PGT?

A

-Mature embryo at day 5-6 blastocyst stage (~70-200 cells)
-Rupture zone pellucida with micropipette and extract 5-10 cells)
-Run appropriate PGT

51
Q

Name and briefly describe the four types of PGT

A
  1. PGT-A
    -Aneuploidy, available to all IVF patients
  2. PGT-M
    -Monogenic conditions
    -Disclosure vs nondisclosure (ie HD, don’t want to pass on but don’t want to know own status)
  3. PGT-SR
    -Inversions
    -Translocations
  4. PGT-P
    -Polygenic risk scores, not commonly facilitated
52
Q

Name the different types of 3rd party reproduction

A

-Sperm donor
-Egg donor
-Embryo donor
-Surrogate: biologically related/oocyte donor
-Gestational carrier: non-biological

53
Q

Name some considerations for 3rd party reproductive options

A

-Carrier screening
-Financial ability
-Insurance coverage
-Support (family, friends, religion)